Chapter 513 - 272: Must Poach Chen Jincheng
Truly, when a woman is beautiful to a certain point, it makes men inexplicably aware of where they stand.
When Chen Jincheng saw this incredibly familiar, beautiful girl, his eyes lit up.
’What a coincidence!’
Her email was right there in the screenshot Sister Hong had sent.
Zhang Ruonan.
Her fresh, sweet appearance was indeed captivating, making it hard for anyone to look away.
In another world, this girl had already played a supporting role in the 2018 movie *Sadness Flows Back into the River* and had made guest appearances in a few TV shows, but she wasn’t well-known.
And she hadn’t gone viral on Tiao Yin yet!
In this world, she had also played a supporting role in a movie—though a different one from the other world—and had guest-starred in a few TV shows. Here, too, she was still relatively unknown.
The key was that in the other world, she held the title of the "Nation’s First Love."
She was even the woman most men wanted to marry, which was why the comment sections of various female influencers were flooded with questions like, "Should I marry Zhang Ruonan or her?" or "If Zhang Ruonan and this girl both fell in love with me, who should I choose?"
Since she wasn’t famous yet and hadn’t gone viral on Tiao Yin, she wasn’t wearing a mask and baseball cap like she would have when she was a big star. She just sat there, her face completely uncovered. No one recognized her, let alone gathered around to take photos.
Chen Jincheng, however, led Sister Feiye over to Zhang Ruonan and sat down right next to her.
When Sister Feiye saw Zhang Ruonan, she couldn’t help but purse her lips in disdain.
’There’s a beautiful woman here, and the boss just happens to sit right next to her? If he said it was a coincidence and he hadn’t noticed her, not even a ghost would believe him.’
’He’s definitely up to something.’
’But this is too much. I’m right here next to him! Isn’t this a classic case of wanting what’s in the pot while you’re still eating from your bowl?’
’And what did she see? The girl was scrolling through Tiao Yin—and she was watching the boss’s videos!’
’Oh my god!’
’A huge sense of crisis washed over her. Does this mean I won’t get any time alone with him for the entire trip back?’
Chen Jincheng also noticed that Zhang Ruonan was watching his videos, and he had a good guess as to why.
’It must be about the Huawei ad.’
’After all, she sent that email, so she’s obviously interested. She’s probably just trying to learn more about him, the boss of Second-Life Star.’
Thinking of this, he was reminded of a very famous type of Tiao Yin video from the other world.
The "celebrity-encounters-fan-at-the-airport" series.
In those videos, a celebrity would find a fan watching their content, then deliberately say bad things about themselves. After being met with annoyance, disdain, and eye-rolls from their own fan, they would finally pull down their mask and hat, revealing their identity to the fan’s ecstatic disbelief.
Although Zhang Ruonan wasn’t exactly a fan, he could pull off something with a similar effect.
With that in mind, he took out a miniature camera—the kind influencers use—clipped it to his collar, and started recording.
He adjusted the camera’s angle, aiming it at Zhang Ruonan.
Once he was ready, he didn’t forget to whisper to the camera, "Waiting for my flight and spotted a total bombshell. Super innocent-looking, I think she might have been in a movie. I’m gonna go try and talk to her."
Sister Feiye watched him, snorted softly, and, deciding it was "out of sight, out of mind," pulled out her phone to distract herself.
’She had no right to be jealous or angry, and certainly no right to stop him from doing anything.’
’She was self-aware enough to know that.’
Meanwhile, Chen Jincheng had already sidled up next to Zhang Ruonan.
Zhang Ruonan, busy scrolling through videos, clearly sensed someone approaching. She turned her head slightly and saw a man in a mask and a baseball cap.
Her brow furrowed instantly.
’She was used to being hit on when she was out, and this was clearly another one of those times.’
An expression of disgust appeared on her face.
’She hated it most when people tried to hit on her in public places like this.’
’They have no sense of personal space!’
Chen Jincheng, however, just grinned as he looked at the video on her phone. It was the one he’d filmed, titled "Cherish the Good Girls, Don’t Waste the Bad Ones."
He teased, "Are you a fan of his? That guy’s no good, you know. Everyone online says he’s a total scumbag. Besides, what kind of decent person would say something like, ’Cherish the good girls, don’t waste the bad ones’?"
Hearing this, Zhang Ruonan couldn’t help but roll her eyes.
’Are pickup lines really this pathetic these days?’
’Trying to hit on someone by putting another person down is the absolute worst.’
But Chen Jincheng continued, "I guess the guy is kind of handsome, but he’s still a notch below me. And I hear he’s super talented, but I figure he’s probably just a little bit less talented than me, too!"
’This guy was unbelievable. Where did he get the nerve to say he was more handsome than Chen Jincheng?’
’If he’s so handsome, why is he hiding his face behind a mask and a cap?’
’Doesn’t he know that being good-looking is a huge advantage when you’re trying to pick someone up?’
’If he were actually handsome, he would’ve taken that mask off ages ago.’
’The thing is, there weren’t many people online more handsome than Chen Jincheng. She had no idea where this guy got his audacity.’
’Besides, Chen Jincheng’s talent was undeniable. He didn’t just write and sing songs; he could also direct commercials, and he was good at it. Even a high-quality ad like the one for the Rice Phone 8 was his work.’
’And on top of all that, the man knew how to make money. People online were saying that for promoting the Rice Phone in his latest video, his commission was over 500 million. Even after Tiao Yin took its cut and he paid his taxes, the final amount would be staggering.’
’And he earned all that from a single video.’
’And now, he was holding the contract for the Huawei Phone ad campaign.’
’Countless people had their eyes on that ad, hoping to use it to boost their own careers...’
’Take that influencer, Sister Feiye. After she starred in the Rice Phone commercial, the company poured money into advertising, and now you could see her everywhere.’
’So many actresses were jealous of her, a mere influencer.’
’That’s why so many people were eyeing the Huawei Phone ad, all of them hoping to be the next lucky one, just like Sister Feiye.’
’Some of the celebrities at her own agency had secretly sent emails to Second-Life Star.’
’She had secretly sent one, too.’
’Even though she knew she probably wouldn’t get the part, a person could still fantasize...’
’Honestly, any girl would be at least a little interested in a man like Chen Jincheng—if it weren’t for the rumors that he was a scumbag.’
’This guy in front of her must have skin as thick as a fortress wall to dare compare his talent to Chen Jincheng’s.’
’A normal person wouldn’t even have the guts.’
Seeing him about to speak again, Zhang Ruonan really couldn’t stop herself from rolling her eyes at him. "Do you even know who he is?"
Chen Jincheng just smiled. "Of course. The great and handsome Chen Jincheng. But I’m still a little more handsome than he is."
Zhang Ruonan was now completely certain that the man in front of her was a lunatic. She decided to inch away from him.
But just then, Chen Jincheng suddenly said, "The movie you were in was great. You played that innocent, top-student role perfectly."
"???" Zhang Ruonan froze mid-movement when she heard that.
’He recognized me?’
’What a pleasant surprise...’
’Even if he was a total lunatic, he’d recognized her.’
’She had played a supporting role in one movie and had guest spots on a few TV shows, but in terms of fame, she was still a total unknown.’
’That’s why she could walk around the airport without a mask and be fine; basically, nobody recognized her.’
’She could walk around in plain sight, and no one would know who she was.’
’To suddenly be recognized, and by someone who even knew which movie she was in... one could only imagine how happy she felt inside.’
She had no idea that her secretly thrilled expression was being captured by the miniature camera.
Seizing the opportunity, Chen Jincheng said, "I really loved your movie. Could I get a photo with you?"
"Ah... Oh, okay..." Zhang Ruonan snapped back to reality. She hesitated for a second but didn’t refuse.
’He might be a lunatic, but he recognized me.’
’It’s just a photo, what’s the big deal!’
Chen Jincheng quickly stood up, moved next to Zhang Ruonan, and made a show of taking out his phone and opening its video camera.
’Sister Feiye sighed softly at the sight. The boss was clearly toying with this girl. She could see his whole routine playing out; he would eventually take off the mask and let the girl know he was Chen Jincheng.’
Zhang Ruonan faced Chen Jincheng’s phone, made a peace sign, and tried her best to smile as sweetly as possible.
However, she deliberately maintained some distance, clearly still wary of him.
Chen Jincheng noticed, but he had to admit, this girl was truly worthy of the title "Nation’s First Love." Her smile was just so pure and sweet.
Watching her smile, he suddenly said, just to mess with her, "By the way, have you actually been in a movie?"
"???" The sweet smile on Zhang Ruonan’s face instantly froze. It was replaced by an expression that could kill.
’He hadn’t even seen my movie?’
’Was he just saying that for the hell of it?’
’And she actually believed him! She was really about to take a picture with him, wasting a perfectly good smile?’
She felt like she was about to explode. How could anyone be this shameless?
But just as she was about to erupt, she saw on the phone’s screen that the man was pulling down his mask and taking off his cap, revealing a handsome face.
"Ah..." In that instant, the anger on Zhang Ruonan’s face transformed into utter disbelief. "You... You’re... You’re actually Chen Jincheng..."